I Hate Prom
by WillowEchoRiver
Summary: Annabeth is annoyed when her father and step mom conspire to get her to go to prom. But she doesn't know the least of their plans. Percabeth. Rated K.
1. Chapter One: Friends or Not

**Author's Note: So, I just wanted to write this story because... I felt like it? This is Post-The Last Olympian, but I'm pretending for the purposes of this story that the whole fantastic Percabeth scene didn't happen. Because even though it was wonderful and I loved it, I wanted to write my own as well. :)**

**And yeah, prom stories are totally cliche but every once and a while I get in the mood to write something really cheesy, and I have to get it out of my system.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

**I Hate Prom**

**Chapter One: Friends Or Not**

Annabeth looked at the calendar on the inside of her school locker. She sighed in relief. Not much longer and she would be out of San Fransisco and back at camp. What a relief _that_ would be.

She slammed her locker door closed a little harder then she meant to, and the sound echoed through the school hallways, but no one noticed amidst the excited chatter. Prom excitement. That was all anything was these days. And it made Annabeth want to be sick.

She turned to go to the parking lot, because school was over for the day, but was stopped by someone standing in her path. She looked up to see Justin Smith standing in front of her. He had dirty blond hair and his blue eyes reminded her eerily of Luke. But he had no scar on his face, just a very wide smile.

"Hey Annabeth, can we talk for a moment?" He asked, offering a charming smile.

"Sure?" She agreed, wondering what he had to say to her. She wasn't used to him signaling her out. It wasn't as if he was normally rude, he was actually very nice for someone so popular, but it was weird nonetheless.

"I was just sort of wondering if, you know, you wanted to go to prom with me?" He asked with a sort of certainty, Justin Smith was not accustomed to the idea that he might be turned down.

She stared at him in surprise, and it took a whole minute before she was convinced that he was serious. She blinked a couple times, considering how she might answer. "Oh, um...Justin, that's really nice of you to ask. But, um, I don't think so. Sorry."

His eyes widened in slight surprise, "Why? Did I do something? Because I can-"

"Justin! No, really, you've been really nice. Sorry, but no."  
><strong><br>**He looked disappointed, but more surprised than anything, "Yeah, okay. Call me if you change your mind. Catch you later, Annabeth." He offered one last smile, though admittedly this time he looked too shocked for it to seem genuine.

Suddenly she heard a voice behind her, "Please do not tell me that you just said no to Justin Smith."

Annabeth turned to see her friend, Kaylie Edmond standing with a shocked look on her face.

"Oh, hi Kaylie, what's up?" Annabeth asked, turning around and opening her locker again just to give her an excuse not to look her friend in the eye.

"Justin Smith is the most popular guy at school, Annabeth, do you realize what you just turned down? You could have, like, had friends. No offense." Kaylie shook her head and her short brown hair stuck up, reflecting the rather frantic look on Kaylie's face.

Annabeth laughed, "I appreciate it, Kaylie, thank you."

"Oh, Annabeth, you know I'm right. Grace and I are your only friends. I can't figure out why or anything, because except for all the freak accidents that happen around you, you're really cool. But you could have been, like, _popular_." Kaylie had a look of wonder in her eyes at the very thought, and her words came out in a rush. She was one of those helpful people who always said exactly what they thought, even if it wasn't the most polite thing in the world.

Annabeth closed her locker again, because she couldn't stare at it for no reason forever, and turned to walk out the door with Kaylie.  
><strong><br>**Another girl approached them at a run, her black curly hair flying behind her. "Guys! Wait up!" She called. When she caught up with them she slowed down and caught her breath.

"Grace! You won't believe what just happened!" Kaylie said, excited to share the piece of gossip with their friend. "Justin asked Annabeth to prom!"

"Justin King or Justin Smith?" Grace asked, curiously.

"Smith! And Annabeth said no!"

Instead of seeming too surprised like Kaylie was, Grace just smiled triumphantly, "There is only one reason anyone would turn down Justin Smith! And that is because there is another guy. So who is it, Annabeth?"

"Would you two _please_ shut up about Justin Smith?" Annabeth exclaimed in exasperation.

"Ohhhh! Grace! I bet it's that boy who visited from New York last month!" Kaylie spoke with excitement. Eager to discover who her friend was secretly in love with.

Annabeth's eyes widened just slightly, but her two friends were too caught up in their conversation to notice.

"Which one? The guy with the crutches? Grover was his name, right?" Grace asked, confused.

"No, no, no! The other one!" Kaylie squealed in excitement. "It _has_ to be him! They spend all summer together, right? Don't you Annabeth?"

"Hold it you two! Percy is just my friend!" She said, stopping her tracks with a frown etched on her face.

The two girls stopped walking as well and turned to face her. Kaylie had a wide smile on her face, and Grace's eyes were shining with curiosity.

"I don't believe it. I can totally see you two together. Besides, you were like, inseparable when they visited last month!" Kaylie said, giddy with excitement.

Annabeth let out a groan, "Sometimes I wonder why I'm friends with you two,"

"Because we're the only people at school who will _be_ your friends." Grace offered helpfully.****

**00000**

"This is stupid!" Annabeth said in annoyance, "I don't want to go!"

Her father and her stepmother were standing in front of her in the kitchen, the smell of fresh-baked cookies filled the room, but even that didn't melt Annabeth's fury.

"But, Annabeth, dear! Why don't you go with your friends?" Her dad asked her, sounding concerned.

"You mean the only _two_ friends I have in San Francisco? Kaylie _and_ Grace both have dates. So I can't go with my friends!" Frustration was evident on Annabeth's face. She didn't want to argue with her parents, and all things considered, they'd been getting on pretty well lately. But this whole prom thing infuriated her. There was only one person she was at all interested in going to prom with, and _that_ wasn't going to happen. So, why go?

"And you don't have a date, honey?" Mrs. Chase asked, curiously.

"No! I already told you. Why are you guys so set on me going to prom?"

Her dad and step mother just exchanged a smile as if they were hiding something from her, which only made Annabeth _more_ angry.

"Let's make a deal," Her stepmother said, with a smile on her face, "Come shopping with me this afternoon and buy a dress. If you don't have a date by the night of the prom, you can stay home."

"I'm _not_ going to have a date! No one will ask, and if they do I'll just say no." She meant it too.

"Just humor me, Annabeth, please? I've always wanted to take a daughter shopping for prom!" Her stepmother asked hopefully.

"Fine." She sighed. She didn't see the point in shopping for a prom she wasn't going to. But if they agreed not to make her go without a date (and she could always refuse anyone who asked her,) then she didn't mind so much.

**00000**

Two hours later, Annabeth regretted agreeing to the deal.

She actually liked spending time shopping with her stepmother. And looking at dresses was fun, she had to admit, she could be as girly as the next person. But the whole thing was depressing.

What was the point in looking for a dress when you weren't going to have any occasion to wear it?

"What about this one?" Her stepmother asked, pulling a dress off the rack and showing it to Annabeth.

"Too pink and frilly." She said, shaking her head.

Mrs. Chase glanced at the dress again then nodded, "You're right… Annabeth, why don't you want to go to prom? Most girls your age love that."

"I'm not like most girls my age. If I went to prom monsters would probably attack or something, anyway." She responded with surprising calm.

"But that's not the reason, is it?" Her stepmother asked, knowingly.

"I just don't have any reason _to_ go." Annabeth replied, going through the dress rack halfheartedly. "Sure, it might be fun if I could go with my friends. But I can't. So what's the point? Why would I go by myself? Boring."

"And you're telling me no boy asked you to prom? You're beautiful and you have a great personality- And I'm not just saying that because I'm your stepmother!"

Annabeth was quiet for a long time as she continued to go through dresses, but then she said almost inaudibly, "Justin Smith asked me."

"Justin Smith?" Mrs. Chase asked, in surprise, "And you turned him down?"

"Sure, yeah, I guess."

Mrs. Chase caught Annabeth gently by the arm and turned her so that they were facing each other. "Honey, why did you tell him no?" But she had a look in her eyes like she could already guess the answer.

"I just didn't want to go with him." Annoyance was starting to creep back into Annabeth's tone, she didn't like where this interrogation was going. So she turned to face the dresses again.

There was a short silence, before Mrs. Chase said, "Would you go if Percy asked you?"

That's where the conversation went too far. Fury filled her to the brim and she spun on her stepmother with anger burning in her gray eyes. "Can't I just have friends? Everyone keeps accusing me of turning Justin down because of Percy! Percy this, Percy that! Percy doesn't _rule_ my life!"

"Of course, you can just have friends, dear." Her step mom stayed surprisingly calm. She just smiled and said, "Grover is your friend, Justin Smith is your friend. But Percy-"

"Is going to _his_ prom, in _New York_ with some _cheerleader!_ Good for him! I hope he has a blast! Why do you assume that _anything else_ is going on?"

"Because you got so upset, dear." Mrs. Chase's voice softened, and she said gently, "Now, how do you know he is going with a cheerleader?"

"Grover told me that Percy told him that a cheerleader had asked him to prom. Girls asking guys these days. Crazy, huh?" Annabeth's voice had quieted, but there was still anger burning in her tone.

"And do you know he said yes?"

"Why wouldn't he? Now, there are no good dresses here. Can we leave?" Annabeth asked, furiously.

"I thought I saw one over there, Annabeth, I'll go look. Just a minute."

Suddenly she heard a slightly muffled voice behind her, "Annabeth!"

She spun around, startled, and saw mist forming in the air in front of her. In it she could see Percy's face. "Percy! This isn't a good time. Is everything okay?"

"Sure, just wanted to say hi." He replied, looking confused. "Are you... Shopping for prom?" He raised his eyebrows.

"My parents made me, okay? Now, I'm in public. So, later." She waved her hand through the mist, and it cleared away. Her cheeks burning red. It was not a good time for her to talk to him, both because she was in public and also because of her current issues with people thinking she was in love with him.

Even if, maybe, just maybe, she was. Okay. She was. But everyone didn't need to keep talking about it.

Mrs. Chase came up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. Annabeth turned to face her, and almost let out a gasp when she saw the dress her stepmother was holding. It was beautiful.

"Want to try it?" Mrs. Chase asked, with a big grin on her face.

"Okay. Yeah, I guess." Annabeth said, with a slight smile.

**Author's Note: I was going to make this a really long one-shot, but I think I'm going to make a little three-shot. I haven't tried that before. But I didn't want to try to stuff this all in one chapter. So I think I'll go for three! I hope you guys like it! Please review and let me know! Constructive criticism is appreciated! **


	2. Chapter Two: It Doesn't Matter

**Author's Note: Wow, guys...I just need to say how much I appreciate the outpouring of support I got from the last chapter! I received so many reviews and story alerts and favorites in just a couple hours. Nothing like that has happened in any of my stories so quickly, and it was so encouraging to me. You are all amazing people. Thank you so much.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson.**

**I Hate Prom**

**Chapter Two: It Doesn't Matter.**

The next day, in the evening, Annabeth decided she had better give Percy a call. She'd calmed down and was no longer so angry about the whole prom situation. With her emotions now under control, she wanted to talk to Percy to sort of make up for being rude to him the day before.

But really, she'd been in public. What would the mortals have done if they saw her Iris-Messaging in the middle of the mall?

She found a fountain in a park that was currently deserted. All the children who would normally play there were home eating dinner, so she figured it would be safe to talk. She threw a golden drachma into the fountain's mist and asked for Percy.

He appeared in the mist in front of her, and smiled, "Oh, hey Annabeth!"

"Hi, Percy, how's it going?" She asked, keeping her tone cheerful. She was too proud to directly apologize about the day before, but maybe if she was nice to him he wouldn't mind that too much.

"Good." He shrugged, "Did you find what you were looking for yesterday?"

Annabeth's smile melted and gave way to a frown, but she was determined to be nice. "I guess." She replied, calmly. Though she was a little annoyed he'd brought that up. _Why was he always so tactless?_

"Hey, speaking of, er, prom... I sort of need your advice." Percy said, looking a little doubtful.

She froze, "What do you need advice about?" She asked, dreading his reply.

"The thing is, I didn't know who else to ask..." He mumbled, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "I'm supposed to bring a corsage for my date, right? Isn't that like a thing?"

"I guess." She said, shrugging. Everyone said so, but it wasn't like she was the expert on it.

"So, like, what kind?" He had this confused and helpless look in his eyes, and it _almost_ melted Annabeth's annoyance.

"Just pick a kind of flower you like. And, you could ask your date what color dress she'll be wearing so you can make sure it matches."

He shook his head a little desperately, "I can't do that. It makes me feel ridiculous. Come on, Annabeth, isn't there some color that just goes with everything?"

She let out a sigh, "White, I guess, white goes with everything."

"Thanks! You're the best!" He said, brightening up immediately, "I don't know anything about this whole prom thing."

She swallowed, "Yeah, no problem."

"I'll see you at camp soon, right?" He asked lightly, in his 'I'm-totally-oblivious-to-how-upset-you-are' voice.

"Sure, see you then, Percy."

"See you, Annabeth!"

She waved her hand through the mist quickly, and sat down at the edge of the fountain, grabbing a rock of the ground and tossing it across the park in frustration.

_Why was he such a clueless idiot sometimes?_

**00000**

Two weeks later, Annabeth lay on her bed listening to her iPod. It was the night of the prom, and for some stupid reason or another her parents had made her put her dress on and do her hair and makeup. Shopping was one thing, but why did they find it necessary to torture her and make her sit at home in her prom dress all night? Did they want to depress her?

She tried not to think about the fact that Percy was currently in New York getting ready for his prom with some mysterious cheerleader.

Anyway, it didn't matter. Why should it matter to her what Percy did? It shouldn't matter, and it didn't.

But it did.

There was a knock on her door, and her step mom pushed it open and stepped inside. "Annabeth, honey, want to come downstairs and have some dinner?"

"No thanks." She said, taking her headphones out of her ears and sitting up so she could look at her stepmother.

"You look beautiful, honey." Mrs. Chase said with a smile. She approached Annabeth and reached over to fix a piece of her hair that had fallen astray. "Now, aren't you hungry?"

"Not really, thanks, though." Annabeth said, plastering a smile on her face.

But with seriously inconvenient timing, her stomach growled loudly.

Her step mom laughed, "Come on dear, you can come right back up here and pout after dinner."

"I wasn't pouting!" She protested, and Mrs. Chase raised her eyebrows, "Fine, okay, I'll come eat dinner."

"Thank you, dear, it'll be ready in five minutes." Mrs. Chase said, exiting the room.

Annabeth got to her feet and glanced at herself in the mirror, feeling embarrassed to be going downstairs for dinner all dressed up. She felt like a little girl playing dress-up again, and since she'd spent most of her childhood feeling unwanted, that was not a pleasant remembrance.

Her dress was simple, but elegant. It was a full length gray-blue gown, with a dark green sparkling sash around the waste. Her hair was pinned back loosely and curls fell over her shoulder.

She looked away from the mirror, feeling embarrassed for dressing up at all. At least her stepmother had let her wear her white converse instead of high-heeled shoes. Then she could at least feel slightly comfortable. But that didn't make up for much.

Annabeth grabbed her Yankees cap from the dresser, just in case she felt the need to turn invisible, which felt likely. Then she went downstairs to join the others at the dinner table.

Her two little half-brothers stared at her when she sat down.

"Annabeth! You look pretty!" The younger of the two said, giving her a big smile.

"Thanks, buddy." She said, giving him a small smile in return.

After that, dinner conversation was mostly normal, except that Annabeth didn't have much to say.

Once, her father obviously tried to get her to talk when he said, "I don't think the Lincoln Memorial is very architecturally sound."

"I'm not going to warrant such an outrageous statement with a comment." She told him, but she was smiling.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. It startled Annabeth, and she jumped slightly in surprise.

"Annabeth, will you get the door, since you've finished your food?" Her dad asked, calmly.

She looked around and saw the rest of her family still had food on their plates, but hers was empty. "But, Dad," She said, frowning, "I can't answer the door dressed like this!"

"Annabeth, please, the rest of us haven't finished our food." Mrs. Chase said, and her and Annabeth's father exchanged a look. Though she couldn't figure out what it was supposed to mean.

With a groan, Annabeth pushed her chair back and walked toward the front door. If she felt silly before she opened it, it was nothing compared to what she felt afterwards.

Percy was standing on her front porch.

**Author's Note: So, what do you think? Was that chapter horrible? I don't feel that great about it, but I hope you guys enjoyed it nonetheless. Was it too out of character? Please tell me what you think! Thanks, you all!**


	3. Chapter Three: I Also Hate Surprises

**Author's Note: You are all fantastic. I mean, seriously. Your reviews make me SO happy! I just can't even describe how much it means to me. So, thank you a thousand times :) I try to reply to all of them, but fanfiction hasn't been letting me do that. So if I didn't reply to your review, just know that I truly appreciate it! Thank you so much!**

**I really wanted to make this a three-shot, but I think it's going to take four chapters to finish. I hope an extra chapter is okay with you guys!**

**I Hate Prom**

Chapter Three: I Also Hate Surprises.

"Percy?" Annabeth asked, her jaw dropping. "What...?"

She glanced over her shoulder where her dad and step mom were sitting with large grins on their faces, like they'd had this planned all along. Then she looked back at Percy who was standing there with a slightly nervous smile on his face. He seemed unsure if she was about to hug him or hit him. She did neither, at least not at first.

She held the door open a little wider, "Oh, um. Come in?" She offered, too surprised to say much more.

He stepped inside, "Good to see you, too?" He offered, still looking a little nervous.

Her surprise faded momentarily and she actually smiled, "Sorry." She hugged him, when she stepped away she could see his smile was wider now and his nervousness had disappeared for a time. She, on the other hand, still felt totally lost and confused. Which was _not_ the way she liked to feel, _ever._

"Okay, now, please explain to me what you are doing here?" She asked her friend, even though somewhere in the back of her mind, the pieces of the puzzle were beginning to put themselves together.

"I'm here to take you to prom." He said, as if it were the most ordinary thing in the world. But suddenly he frowned, "I mean...That is...If you want to go?"

She was silent for a moment, not because she didn't know how to answer. (Oh, she wanted to go.) But because she couldn't believe what was going on. "Wait a minute, you flew from New York to take me to prom?"

Percy nodded, "Basically."

Annabeth wasn't sure if she should feel flattered or annoyed.

She noticed for the first time that Percy was wearing a tuxedo, something that was very unusual for him. It seemed a little strange. Not that it wasn't handsome, because it was. But it was also surprising.

She turned around and stared at her parents questioningly, then demanded "You knew about this all along, didn't you?"

"Of course!" Her father said cheerfully, "Good to see you again, Percy!"

"Good to see you too, sir." He answered lightly, but he was watching Annabeth nervously, as if trying to understand what she was thinking.

"Percy, dear, would you like something to eat?" Her stepmother asked him in concern, "You must be hungry after your trip!"

He smiled, "No thanks, Mrs. Chase. I had something on the train."

Throughout this conversation, Annabeth was just standing there with an unreadable expression on her face. But her mind was spinning. So, her stepmother had taken her shopping specifically because Percy was coming, and she had asked about her having a date to make sure she didn't so Percy could take her. They had all planned this whole thing and she had never once figured it out, or even guessed at what was going on. She couldn't believe it. Why hadn't she realized it before?

_Oh, yeah,_ She thought, _Because, it's insane!_

Suddenly, Annabeth smacked Percy in the arm.

"Ow!" He protested, rubbing his arm. "That hurt!"

"You guys are crazy! You couldn't have just _told me?_" She said, staring at them all.

Percy was frowning as he continued to rub his injured arm, "So...You don't want to go? Cause I mean, I came here..." He looked disappointed.

Her eyes widened, "I didn't say I didn't want to go." She said quickly, surprised, "I want to go."

Percy looked relieved, and Mr. and Mrs. Chase's smiles grew even larger than before.

Suddenly, Annabeth's half-brothers started to dance around the living room as if they had one mind, singing, "Annabeth has a boyfriend! Annabeth has a boyfriend!"

"Matthew! Bobby! Shut up!" Annabeth said quickly, feeling herself turn bright red. She figured it would be wisest to get out of the house as soon as possible. But, _how?_

"Thank you, guys, this was a wonderful surprise! Bye!" She said, hurrying toward the open front door.

"Annabeth, wait! Don't you want pictures?" Mrs. Chase called quickly, before Annabeth could step outside the door.

She gave her stepmother a pleading look, "Can we do it when I get back, please?" She asked desperately. Her little brothers would be asleep by then.

"Of course. Have fun, you too!"

"Thank you." Annabeth said, breathing a sigh of relief and giving her step mom a very wide smile to show her gratitude.

"Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Chase! See you later!" Percy said, waving as he followed Annabeth out the door.

She sighed in relief when she was outside in the cool evening air, but she could still hear her brothers singing inside, "Annabeth has a boyfriend! Annabeth has a boyfriend!"

"Sorry about that," She said, with an embarrassed smile, "Matt and Bobby are a little..."

"Hilarious? I agree." Percy said cheerfully, as if it didn't bother him, and Annabeth found herself extremely grateful to him for acting normal. He wasn't behaving like her date, he was behaving like her friend, and that made her discomfort fade away quickly.

"Good to see you, Percy." She said, with a smile.

He grinned, "You too. Good surprise, huh?"

"Well, you certainly surprised me!"

"You hate surprises." He said, still grinning.

"Most of them, yes. But you can't generalize anything." She said, nudging him in the arm. Grateful the awkwardness had seemed to fade.

"Sure I can, I can generalize anything I want." He countered.

"Fine then," She grinned, "You can be wrong about _everything_."

"Hypocrite!" He laughed.

"It's hypocritical for you to get mad at me for generalizing." She said, through her laughter.

Annabeth couldn't help but feel happy at that moment, she and Percy hadn't laughed like that in a long time. Amidst the second Titan war and drama in their friendship, the humor had seemed to fade. It felt refreshing to laugh with him again.

They approached a silver car, and Annabeth asked curiously, "Where'd you get the car?"

"A half-blood at the rental place owed me a favor."

"Nice."

He opened the passenger door for her, like a true gentlemen. (Which, Annabeth had to admit, sort of surprised her.) He then walked toward the driver's side, but stopped halfway, and said a little nervously, "Hey Annabeth... You look... I just mean... You look... Um..."

Annabeth raised her eyebrows, and it was hard to see in the evening light, but she could have sworn Percy was blushing. She tried to fight her smile, but couldn't manage it.

"I just mean, you're really beautiful." His words came out in a rush, and he hurried to the other side of the car so he wouldn't have to face her anymore.

She just sat down and buckled her seatbelt, smiling widely.

"Thanks, Seaweed Brain."

**Author's Note: Sorry that chapter was so short, the next one will probably be super long. :) I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope it wasn't OOC. Please let me know what you think!**


	4. Chapter Four: I Love Prom

**Author's Note: A few 'thank you's are in order for this last chapter! Thank you to Blackgrrl92 (My very good friend) for helping me when I was stuck trying to write this next chapter! And thank you to Starglow13 for reminding me that Percy does not fly in airplanes; I was so silly to forget that! Thank you for the reminder! (I did go back and change it.) Also, thank you to all of you fantastic reviewers. You are all wonderful, thank you!**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Percy Jackson.**

**I Hate Prom**

**Chapter Four: I Love Prom.**

The school was lit up brightly and Annabeth watched as couples walked inside together. She could hear the sounds of conversation and laughter even from inside the car.

She spotted Kaylie and her date entering the school together, and she groaned.

"What?" Percy asked, glancing at her in surprise. He looked nervous, and it was no wonder. He was about to enter someone else's high school and spend the evening among strangers.

"Just, uh, ignore my friends, okay? They have sort of outrageous ideas." She told him quickly, but then she smiled encouragingly, "It was nice of you to come."

"I wanted to." He said, shrugging.

They got out of the car and walked toward the school entrance in silence. The comfortable conversation had stopped and they both felt nervous once more. Annabeth wasn't sure if it would be less awkward to treat Percy like a friend or treat him like her date. Which left them in quite the silence as they entered the school.

The gym was decorated with balloons in the school's colors, so it could have been a giant birthday party rather than a prom, except for the people dressed in formal attire all around the room. To one side was a long table with punch and snacks on it, and she could see a crowd gathered around that side of the room. To another side, couples were getting their pictures taken together by the school photographer, and in the center of the gym most of the couples were dancing.

"Food?" She asked, motioning towards the snack buffet.

"Food," He agreed, with a nervous laugh.

They were approaching the snack table when someone behind them said excitedly, "Annabeth! I didn't think you were coming!"

Annabeth closed her eyes and tried to take a deep breath, before turning to face her friend, "Oh, hi, Kaylie!" She tried to seem cheerful, and it wasn't like she didn't like talking to Kaylie. They normally got along very well, but she could already foresee the kind of conversation that was about to take place, and she was dreading it.

Kaylie's jaw dropped open when she saw Percy, who was standing slightly behind Annabeth, looking nervous.

"Holy cow," She looked from Annabeth to Percy, and a grin slowly spread across her face. "I knew it!" She sang, "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! Where is Grace?" Kaylie wondered, looking around hurriedly.

"Probably with her date... Speaking of which, where is _your _date?" Annabeth wanted to end this conversation as soon as possible, but no such luck.

"Oh, getting me punch, but who cares about that! Look at you!" Kaylie squealed excitedly and clapped her hands, "You look lovely, and your _date_! I can't believe it!"

Annabeth wished that she had brought her Yankees cap along, because she felt like turning invisible and staying that way for the rest of her life.

But Kaylie didn't seem to realize anything was wrong, she just continued talking, "You're Percy, right? We met when you visited last month! I'm Kaylie!"

"Oh, yeah, I remember. Hi." Percy said, smiling in a friendly way, though he still looked rather uncomfortable.

"Where is Grace?" Kaylie said, desperately looking around in an attempt to find their friend. "Oh, there she is! Grace!"

Kaylie waved her hands frantically in the air until she caught Grace's attention.

Most of the people surrounding them were staring. Annabeth wanted to disappear _so badly_.

"Kaylie, seriously, stop making such a scene." Annabeth said in a low, warning voice. Trying to fight the anger that rose from her embarrassment.

For the first time since Annabeth had known Percy, he actually stopped being clueless for one single moment. He seemed to sense Annabeth's discomfort, and said quickly, "Hey, Annabeth, do you want something to drink? Cause I can go get it..."

She stared at him with relief, and she hoped he realized just how thankful she was for this, "That'd be great. Thank you, Percy."

He hurried away and she let out a relieved sigh when he was gone. Then, she turned on Kaylie, "Do you have _any_ idea how embarrassing that was?"

By this time, Grace had joined them and was watching with raised eyebrows, but she said nothing.

"Why, Annabeth!" Kaylie's eyes grew wide in mock-innocence, "I thought you weren't in love with him! So, why should it be embarrassing at all?"

She groaned, "Because! We're friends and... Kaylie, please just _shut up_."

A smile formed on her friend's face, "Annabeth, I do this because you are like a sister to me. And sisters stick together. Admit to me you love Percy, and I will leave you alone for the rest of the night."

"How is this sticking together?" Annabeth demanded, feeling anger and dread well up inside of her.

"Because, you'll feel so much better after you admit it!" Kaylie said, and despite how annoying it was, Annabeth was pretty sure Kaylie was sincerely trying to help her.

That didn't make her any less infuriating.

"I will admit no such thing." She replied stubbornly.

"Do it, Annabeth, you have to!"

"No way!" She was too prideful to give in. She wouldn't admit it, no matter how much Kaylie begged.

"You two have to be together. Which means you have to admit it, seriously."

"Grace, help me out here!"

Grace just shook her head and held up her hands, "I'm not getting in the middle of this!"

"Annabeth, if you don't admit it, I will steal the envelope saying who the Prom King and Queen are and replace it with yours and Percy's names. Which would embarrass you beyond belief. Though some people would think of that as a favor..."

"Fine! Okay, Kaylie? I love Percy. Now there, you have to leave us alone." She kept her voice low, and the anger in it was evident.

"With pleasure!" Kaylie said excitedly, her voice full of glee. Then she skipped off to join her date.

Annabeth looked at Grace, "Thank you so much for your help."

"You know how Kaylie gets, I wasn't about to interfere. Have fun with Percy, Annabeth." Grace said, before walking off.

With a frustrated sigh, Annabeth went over to join Percy at the snack table, "I'm sorry about that." She said, with a frown.

He just handed her a plastic cup full of punch, and smiled, "No problem. Hey, I think that guy is giving me a dirty look." He motioned calmly toward Justin Smith.

Annabeth followed his gaze and frowned slightly, "Uh, yeah, just ignore that."

Percy smiled triumphantly, "I guess it's good I got here when I did, huh?"

There was a silence between them for a couple short seconds, but then Percy suddenly said, "Oh! I forgot!"

"What?" Annabeth asked, a little surprised.

Percy reached into his pocket and pulled out a small plastic container, he opened it and took out a white rose corsage, "I, uh, got you this. I probably should have given it to you earlier but I, sort of, forgot."

A smile spread across her face, and she remembered their Iris-Message conversation, "You followed my advice."

"I think it matches your dress very well, you were right!" He said, as he caught her hand in his and put the corsage on her wrist. She tried not to think about the fact that Percy was holding her hand, but it was hard when he didn't let go.

"I hear dancing is another crazy thing they do at these proms..." Percy offered, motioning casually toward the dance floor, but she could see a flicker of nervousness in his eyes.

"Yeah, I heard that too." She grinned, "And, I mean, considering monsters could attack at any moment, we should try to be as normal as possible, right?"

"I certainly think so!" He said, his smile widening.

He didn't let go of her hand, as he led her to the dance floor. He placed his other hand on her waist and she put hers on his shoulder. This time it was _she_ who looked nervous. He smiled reassuringly at her, and she was even more embarrassed that he had noticed how nervous she was.

The song was slow and calming, but Annabeth didn't recognize it. Percy extending his hand to twirl her around like some sort of princess or something, and she laughed when she faced him again. She couldn't help but notice he held her just slightly closer now, and it was strange, because even though she was nervous, she felt somehow safe in his arms.

"So, you took a train all the way from New York to come to my prom?" She asked calculating the distance in her mind.

"Yep, pretty much."

"How long did it take?" She asked, though she guessed it took about three days by train.

"A very, very long time." He replied, shaking his head at the thought.

"Why would you do that? You must have been on the train for days!" It seemed remarkable that he had traveled such a long way just to see her.

"Camp is a while away, and..." He broke off, as if trying to think of the right words, "I wanted...I mean... I wanted to be with you."

Annabeth only hesitated for a moment, before she said with a smile, "With me, or like, near me?"

"Both." He said, a smile forming on his face.

"And, has your trip been a success?"

"Maybe I should be asking you that question." He offered, raising his eyebrows questioningly.

"Perhaps you should." She said, shrugging and trying to hide a smile.

"I'm afraid your mom will have owls attack me or something," He admitted, glancing around the room. But he was smiling.

"I figure with the amount of times you've saved the world, Seaweed Brain, she'll let you off the hook." She was quite pleased with herself for that pun and at any other time she might have commented on it, but not now.

He hesitated for a moment, then he kissed her.

And that was when Annabeth decided, maybe prom wasn't so horrible after all. It didn't matter so much that Kaylie and Grace would tease her, and that she'd been forced to admit that she was in love with Percy, because, maybe she was. And she hated surprises, but this one could have been worse, really, it ended up being quite nice.

When it was time to return home that evening, Annabeth could hardly believe how upset she had been at the beginning of the day and how happy she was now. She thought she owed her parents an apology for getting so mad. But then again, she hated apologizing. But the more she thought about it, the more she was convinced she owed at least that much to her parents. They _had_ done something really nice for her.

She and Percy walked to the front of her house hand in hand, and knocked on the door quietly so they wouldn't wake Annabeth's little brothers. Her parents always kept the door closed and locked so that monsters and thieves alike couldn't just walk into the house as they pleased.

Unfortunately, when Mrs. Chase opened the door with a wide smile and let them in, Bobby and Matthew had been out of bed to get a glass of water.

As soon as they saw Annabeth and Percy holding hands, they burst into song again happily, "Annabeth's got a boyfriend! Annabeth's got a boyfriend!"

It was a lot less embarrassing now, for some reason.

"Boys, go to bed!" Mrs. Chase said sternly, and the little boys skipped to their bedroom, still singing loudly. Then her stepmother turned to them and smiled widely, "So, I suppose you two had a good time?"

"Yes." Percy said, with a smile. "Thanks for letting me take Annabeth, Mrs. Chase. And for helping me plan everything."

"I would do it again in a heartbeat!" Her stepmother answered cheerfully.

Her dad came into the room then, and a grin spread across his face, "Ah, the lovebirds have returned have they? Excellent!" He said happily, "I hope your date behaved, Annabeth, I hear he's quite the troublemaker."

"Dad!-"

"Mr. Chase?-"

"Oh, you two! I'm only joking! Goodness, dear, kids can't take jokes these days can they?" Her dad asked, turning to Mrs. Chase with a smile. "Oh! Percy! I need to show you my new miniature Sopwith Camel models!"

"I'd love to see them, sir," Percy said, cheerfully, following Mr. Chase up the stairs.

As soon as they were gone, Mrs. Chase turned to Annabeth with a smile and asked, "So, dear, was it so horrible?"

"It wasn't so horrible." She admitted, with a smile that reflected her current mood. "Thank you. You were right, I'm sorry I, well, you know."

"Oh, it's fine, dear. I'm just happy you had a good time. Now, would you mind helping me make Percy a few sandwiches? I hear he has quite the train trip ahead of him!"

Annabeth nodded, "It'll take him at least three days to get home!" She said, shaking her head with a smile, "I can't believe he came all this way."

"It's fantastic, isn't it?" Mrs. Chase said with a smile, genuinely happy for her stepdaughter.

**000000**

Annabeth and her stepmother had already made sandwiches for Percy's trip and had begun making cookies for him as well when he and Mr. Chase came back downstairs.

"I'll finish this. Percy's train leaves in a couple hours, So you ought to spend a little time with him before he leaves."

She smiled gratefully at her stepmother, "Thanks,"

As she walked out of the kitchen she passed her dad, and paused for a moment, "Sorry I complained about this prom thing, dad..." She said, sincerely. She wished she'd been happier about it now that she knew the whole thing had been a surprise for her. But that didn't change how much she hated having to apologize. Then again, maybe it would help her deal with her fatal flaw a little bit to learn to say 'I'm sorry' a little more often. Maybe.

He just smiled at her in response and gave her a pat on the shoulder before continuing on into the kitchen.

Annabeth met Percy in the living room, and they went and sat on the front porch steps.

The night air was cool, though not unpleasantly so, and the stars sparkled cheerfully up above.

Percy reached over and took her hand, and she smiled at him happily, "Thank you for coming, and for turning down the cheerleader who asked you to your prom."

It was the first time she'd mentioned it to him, and he looked a little surprised.

"Who told you about that?" He asked, looking at her in confusion.

"Grover."

Percy shook his head, "Can't keep a thing to himself, that goat boy." But his tone was affectionate when he said it. "No, but I'm the one who should be thanking you. I wanted to come. Going with anyone else would just be weird."

She looking at him and grinned, "Because you love me so much?"

He looked at her with a serious look in his eyes, "Well, yeah." He said, like it was obvious.

Her smiled grew even wider, which previously she might have thought impossible. "I love you too, Seaweed Brain."

There was a moment of silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable, like silences sometimes are. It was peaceful.

Soon her parents came out with the food they had made Percy, he thanked them for everything and they all talked and laughed together for a little bit longer. But then it was time for him to leave for his train, and the mood saddened.

"So, now you are going home, huh?" She asked, frowning.

"Yeah. But," He said, keeping his voice cheerful, "Camp is soon!"

"Camp is soon," She agreed, smiling. "And we'll probably almost die."

"Probably. But what do you expect?"

She hugged him goodbye, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. She no longer felt sad. It didn't feel so much like Percy's visit was ending. It felt more like the best summer ever was about to begin.

**Author's Note: I hope this chapter was satisfactory, guys! You have all been so wonderfully kind to me, thank you again! Did anyone get my pun earlier? Just wonderin'. Thanks so much everyone! I hope that chapter wasn't OOC. I was worried about it. Please let me know what you think! You have all been wonderful readers, honestly!**


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